London, Feb 27 (PTI) Baroness Betty Boothroyd, the first female Speaker of the UK House of Commons and a popular politician who also addressed the Lok Sabha twice during her tenure, died aged 93 on Monday.
Boothroyd, a Labour Party MP, served as the Speaker between 1992 and 2000, before going on to become a peer in the House of Lords from 2001. It was during her time as the Speaker that she addressed the Lok Sabha and also the Russian Duma and several European parliaments.
“Not only was Betty Boothroyd an inspiring woman, but she was also an inspirational politician, and someone I was proud to call my friend,” said Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the current Commons Speaker.
“To be the first woman Speaker was truly ground-breaking and Betty certainly broke that glass ceiling with panache. Betty was one of a kind. A sharp, witty and formidable woman – and I will miss her,” he said.
Born into a working-class family in Dewsbury, northern England, in 1929, Boothroyd was introduced to politics at an early age through her mother’s membership of the women’s section of the Labour Party.
As a talented dancer, she made a mark with dance group the ‘Tiller Girls’ but was forced to give it up aged 25 due to a foot infection.
In 1973, Boothroyd became an MP securing the seat of West Bromwich for the Labour Party and became one of 27 female MPs in the House of Commons at the time.
“Elect me for what I am, and not for what I was born,” she said in her acceptance speech, when she was elected with overwhelming cross-party support as the first female Speaker in 1992.
She is credited with modernising the role of Commons Speaker, refusing to wear a traditional wig – a decision which was approved by MPs.
She is best known for a no-nonsense style and for firmly calling “time’s up” at the end of the weekly Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs). PTI AK MRJ MRJ
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